UPDATE

08.24.12

21 Killed in Syrian Airstrikes

Aris Messinis, AFP / Getty Images

A regime warplane dropped an aerial bomb on an apartment building in eastern Syria on Friday, killing at least 21 people in Mayadin, a city near the Iraqi border. The air raid was an attempt to claim back the city after rebels gained control of a key area on a bridge over the Euphrates River there—the first time they had seized control in Mayadin in the 17-month uprising. Damascus was also reportedly pounded by heavy shelling and gunfire. Meanwhile, the United Nations reported a drastic surge in refugee flight from Syria, breaking previous estimates and reinstating fears that the war in Syria could engulf neighboring countries.